The creative spark is a process that allows us to solve seemingly impossible problems. The chemical burst of pleasure we feel when genuine knowledge transmission takes place [for example, from your Bright Principles or your Archetypal Lineage] occurs from the creation of new neural pathways. These are connections between two points that were previously unconnected. Jokes are one of the most pure examples of this neural creation event; most humor is based on two ideas coming together in a new way - puns, rhymes, double meanings, etc. are examples of this. The chemical rush we get from sudden neural connections in jokes is so intensely pleasurable that we laugh out loud. This kind of humor and joy in learning is a huge part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. If people are laughing, they are learning. True learning is a joy because it is an act of creation.

 

But there are two kinds of joy. One is characterized by lightheartedness and the other is marked by fierce engagement and deep concentration. Both give pleasure by increasing connectedness and complexity in the neural systems of learners. There needs to be an interaction between abstract (spirit) and concrete (physical) worlds of knowledge for this kind of complexity to develop fully. Without closing the loop between abstract knowledge and reality, and without making connections between different ideas and areas of knowledge, true learning cannot occur.

 

A focus on linear, abstract, declarative knowledge alone not only fails to create complex connectivity but damages the mind. We are biologically punished for this destructive behavior with a neurochemical rush of lethargy and discomfort that most people call boredom. Extended periods of this affects a person's mental health, resulting in bouts of rage, depression, and worse. In centralized knowledge institutions today, this illness is called 'misbehavior' or 'misconduct'. Without the spark of creation in your neural system, the mind-body system stagnates and falls apart, affecting no only your ability to learn but also your health and relationships as well, leading to increasingly destructive behaviors.